February 26, 2013

We're back with our annual Hottest Toronto Neighbourhoods list (Best Toronto Neighbourhoods for Price Appreciation). The Realosophy Analytics team is always happy to return
to the dance that brought us here - our pioneering approach to tracking house
trends and other analytical data at the neighbourhood level.

Map Instructions: On upper right hand side of map, click on green tab on box to hide legend. On upper right hand side of map, click on box to expend legend.

Central Toronto Houses Hot

Seven of our top ten
neighbourhoods are in central Toronto (west of DVP and east of Dufferin). In one half of the tale of two cities (the
other being the gossamer that is Toronto's condoland), strong demand from urban families, coupled
with a finite number of houses in central Toronto, means higher prices.

And in neighbourhoods offering detached
houses or top schools, the appreciation is significant. The neighbourhoods on this list have appreciated 21% to 27%, well above the citywide appreciation rate of approximately 6%.

Almost one in four properties in Toronto sold for "over the asking price" in 2012 - a striking number as this is an indirect way to assess multiple offer activity. Half of the neighbourhoods on our list rated above the city average with 37-52% of properties selling "over asking."

Inner Burbs Rise

A handy catch-all, the “urban family” actual
encompasses several profiles. The New
Urban (Nuburban?) family wants to ditch the commute, but not the detached house, larger
lot and green lawns. This family sacrifices space, which they
prize, and could buy more of in the outer suburbs, to gain time. These preferences are driving up prices in some inner burb (Etobicoke, North York, East York) neighbourhoods - see Islington Village, Parkwoods and Victoria Park Village on our list.

Luxury Redefined

The
Established Urban family drives demand in
upper-end neighbourhoods like Allenby, Caribou Park, Rathnelly and Casa Loma on our list. They value the pedigree of the neighbourhood, larger houses and local schools, rather than their urban features per se, but do appreciate excellent subway access and top quality main streets.

Long-standing luxury neighbourhoods - Forest Hill, Bridle Path and Teddington Park - start on higher ground so it's rare to see them on "best appreciation" lists - so while Forest Hill makes our list, it's important to note that a handful of super luxury sales can skew the average.

Urban Beauties

Core Urban families value the "urban" in urban living - diversity, access to bike lanes and public transit and walkable
main streets. These preferences lead them to lead boldly in less economically established areas in very downtown locations, unfazed by the prospect of shared walls - think Dufferin Grove and Trinity Bellwoods on our list. These consumer preferences are at the core of Toronto’s urban revitalization trend of the past 10
years and counting, a period which may one day be seen as seminal in our city's history.

Understanding the Data

Yellow Circle - Year over year change in average house prices from 2010 to 2011, calculated by Realosophy Analytics, based on Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Data

Avg. Price - Average house prices in 2010 and 2011, calculated by Realosophy, based on TREB data

Multiple Offer Activity - Indirect measure based on percentage of houses sold over the asking price in 2012, calculated by Realosophy, based on TREB data

Housing Breakdown - Sales by type of House in 2012, calculated by Realosophy, based on TREB data

Walkability - As calculated by Walk Score

Top Schools - Area public schools with "A" ranking in 2012-2013; Average scores of 90 and above calculated by Realosophy Analytics, based on Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test scores as reported by the Ontario Ministry of Education (Note: Our averages include all test scores with the exception of High School Math for which Academic Math is included but Applied Math is not)